Wednesday 15 May 2013

The West 700, Rail Star on the Sanyo Shinkansen


EMU JR West 700 series "Rail Star" stands at Aioi Station on the Sanyo Shinkansen

Following the introduction of the Shinkansen 700 series (see my blog on May 14th, 2013); I am going to show you a variation of it... the EMU 700 series, "Rail Star" (see the top photo).

"Rail Star" is a Shinkansen train, which is operated by JR West. It is an 8-car train, a short version of the standard 700 series Shinkansen train, which consists of 16 cars. Rail Star is operated only on the Sanyo Shinkansen, and not directly operated into the Tokaido and Kyushu Shinkansens. The exterior is different from that of the standard 700 series Shinkansen. That is, the light gray colored body with dark gray and yellow colored stripes denotes the Rail Star as a special Shinkansen train. It also has a special logo on the body of the train (see the following photo).

The interior of the Rail Star is also different from that of the standard 700 series. The seating configuration, which is arranged in 2+2 rows, is more spacious than that of the standard 700 series, which has 3+2 row seats. Furthermore, Rail Star has 4-seat compartments in car number 8. Rail star creates a relaxing environment for passengers.

I have used Rail Star once from Shin-Osaka Station. It was equipped with spacious and luxury reclining seats. The seat also has a good level of hardness, which is very comfortable for me.

The EMU JR West 700 series, Rail Star... it is a real star on the Sanyo Shinkansen.

Side view of the EMU 700 series "Rail Star"
 
More information about EMU JR West 700 series, "Rail Star" (in Japanese):